You will most commonly be able to match your baby’s symptoms to one the seven profiles below. If you have a specific health concern for your baby, take a look at the Common Challenges of The First Year guides. If you don’t find what you need- Email julie@naturaltransition.com for a custom guide (It’s free!).
The Impatient Baby
- This baby is restless, angry and impatient.
- Extremely sensitive to pain, when in pain the baby dislikes being spoken to, touched and even being looked at.
- Stubborn
- These babies often insist on being carried around and cry loudly when they are help still or put down. Even after being carried around for a short while they may start to cry again.
- When hungry the baby wants to feed immediately
- This baby is hard to please-asking for things that are not really wanted once you offered. The Chamomilla baby wants to be carried and cries loudly when you stop moving or put it down.
- When angry the baby may hit anyone who is carrying it.
- This a common remedy for strong pain and is often required while teething
- Perspiration is clammy and feels hot
- The baby will often have one hot red check while the other is pale and cool.
- Symptoms tend to be worse at night
- Stools may be green and smell like rotten eggs
- Ear pains are brought on by exposure to wind
- Fevers are high. These babies sweat easily during a fever. The baby may shiver. The face feels hot while the body feels cold to touch
- Remedy: Chamomilla
The Irritable and Serious Baby
- This baby is serious, irritable and difficult to live with.
- He knows what he wants and is cross if he doesn’t get it.
- He is especially irritable on waking-in the morning or after a nap-when he kicks and screams.
- He sleeps well at night but is miserable and cries all day.
- He has great trouble digesting his feeds and is very windy.
- These babies have a tendency to constipation, they try to pass a stool but can’t. When they finally do it may appear hard and knotty.
- Constant dry irritating and often painful cough which will disturb their sleep
- Feel better for hot drinks
- These babies will have a lot of mucous which will be green, yellow or white
- Babies have trouble feeding because of mucous.
- This is a good conjunctivitis remedy for those babies who appear to have their eyelids glued together
- This type of baby will have a fever that feels hot on the left side and will often feel cold on the other side. Will be sweatier on one side than the other.
- Feel better for passing wind
- Worse before or after passing a stool
- Remedy: Lycopodium
The Jumpy and Nervous Baby
- This is a clingy baby who hates downward movement and will scream on being rocked or even when put down in her cot.
- If she is asleep when you put her down she will wake up.
- She can wake screaming for no apparent reason.
- This baby is nervous, easily startled by sudden noises (such as sneezing or the vacuum cleaner), even in her sleep.
- Can be very irritable before passing a stool and is cheerful afterwards.
- Stools are loose and often contain mucous, this often happens during teething
- This is the best remedy for oral thrush of a breastfeeding baby. The baby will cry in pain while feeding or may refuse the breast altogether. The baby’s mouth wil feel hot to the mother’s nipple.
- Babies who vomit when they are put down
- Remedy: Borax
The Whiny and Clingy Baby
- This baby is whiny and clingy and wants to be carried all the time.
- He is a gentle baby who loves cuddles and attention and becomes miserable if he is separated from his mum and also if he is unwell or when he is teething.
- He cries more in a hot, stuffy atmosphere and is much happier in the fresh air.
- Often have dry mouths and lips
- Show an absence of thirst
- These are very affectionate children and they need affection reciprocated. They cry to get sympathy and to get what they want
- These babies will moan and cry during a fever, which is a burning dry heat and comes on during the evening. Sweating may be one sided, usually the left.
- Like to sleep on their back and poke their feet out of the blankets to cool
- The symptoms tend to be changeable. Hot and then cold, wants a blanket then wants to be uncovered
- Mucus looks green, dirty yellow, smelly thick and dry alternating with profuse and watery. Will be difficult to cough up mucous which is sticky
- Cough is constant in the evening, dry at night and loose in the morning
- This is a good remedy for sticky eyes of the new born
- Remedy: Pulsatilla
The Clingy and Frightened Baby
- This baby may have had a traumatic birth and is having difficulty recovering from it.
- They tend to be clingy, frightened and restless children.
- Children often have one or more the following fears: dark, water, animals, dogs and strangers.
- They have bad nightmares and wake screaming unable to be consoled.
- Appear terrified
Remedy: Stramonium
The Discontented and Sluggish Baby
- This baby becomes worn out after a growth spurt.
- He is irritable, hard to please and sluggish.
- He doesn’t gain weight well and is thin and pale.
- He is especially miserable when he is teething-which seems to go on forever, without any results!
- Teething may bring on diarrhea and colds
- These babies develop slowly in every way. They will be slow to reach developmental milestones and slow to grow
- This is a good remedy for a baby who is not thriving
- Very sensitive to cold damp conditions
- These babies appear listless and have little energy
- They appear to want something but they don’t know what
- This is a good remedy to give after an acute illness and the baby is having trouble regaining it’s strength
- Often good for coughs that wont go away
- Difficult to wake this baby
- Remedy: Calcarea phosphorica
The Colicky and Irritable Baby
- This baby is irritable, difficult, restless and doesn’t want to play
- She cries a lot, especially at night when she doesn’t want to sleep
- She seems to survive on very little sleep
- She is pale and colicky
- Has a sour smell-to her sweat and stools. Will smell sour even after washing
- The child may eat a lot with out appearing to enjoy it
- Suddenly dislikes favorite comfort objects or may suddenly take up a comfort object
- Remedy: Rheum